Blonde Locks and Big Stocks
by catherandwren
Summary: It's 1929, Cress is an innocent city girl while Thorne is a man running from the law what happens when Thorne kidnaps her and holds her for ransom? CRESSWELL!
1. Chapter 1

Cress's POV

Cress walked down the paved sidewalk along the busy streets of New York. It was a chilly May and Cress was heading for her favorite fresh fruit market, as she did every Tuesday.

Cress tried her hardest not to think about the fact that she would have to return to Sybil, her so called mother. Sybil adopted Cress at the age of nine from a run down orphanage. That day was suppose to be the best day of her life, but instead it was the worst.

Nine year old Cress had so much hope and joy when they told her that she was getting adopted, and life seemed to be perfect for about an hour after Sybil brought her to a house that she was suppose to call her home, but it was really her personal hell.

Fourteen months. Fourteen mouths until Cress would turn 18, then she would be free from Sybil. Life had been really hard for the past eight years. Sybil, adopted Cress for the extra labor and to get pity from the people she committed fraud to. Then when Cress turned twelve Sybil found her real talent.

Cress had always been good with numbers, specifically the numbers in the stock market. Sybil got into the roaring stock market of the roaring 20s. Sybil brought Cress along with her one day to see if she could get a generous man to tell her where she should put her money. Sybil had curled her hair that morning, and even bought Cress a dress just for the outing.

When they had got to the place Cress saw the numbers and something just clicked inside her head, maybe because she had been reading Sybil's books on the stock market, but the numbers just made sense to her.

Cress told Sybil her predictions and Sybil just laughed at her and then they went back home after Sybil took some advice from a real greasy looking man. Cress knew that the shares she bought was possibly the worst shares she could have bought.

A week later Sybil came storming into the old library in their mansion and demanded Cress to explain herself. It turned out that Cress was indeed correct and the company's she told Sybil buy the shares for, the stocks went shooting up. Because of Sybil's actual decision a week ago, she lost hundreds.

When Sybil asked about it Cress simply responded.

"It's what the numbers say ma'am."

After that day Cress continued to tell Sybil how to make the most money, and she became rich. At first Cress was overjoyed to be pleasing mistress, but after a few years Cress realized that Sybil would never be satisfied with Cress, and she would never love her.

Cress had attempted to run away several times, but the authorities would always drag Cress back to a very unhappy mistress. Cress had fourteen more months of torture and then she would finally, legally be free from this endless nightmare.

* * *

 **Thorne's POV**

Thorne was in a high end club making out with this red headed waitress. She wasn't anything special, but how else was the famous Carswell Thorne going to spend his days? Thorne glanced at his spendy silver wrist watch, and he pulled away from the girl- Cindy, he thought her name was, looked more than disappointed.

"Well gorgeous I have some business I have to take care of so can you give me your address and we'll call it a day?"

The girl smirked and pulled out her ordering pad from her apron. Then while excessively biting her lip, she wrote down her home number.

She handed it to Thorne and he walked out, as he walked out the exit, he dropped the slip her address was on in the waste bin.

Thorne got in his car. Oh his car, the Rampion, it was definitely the one thing he cherished the most. The Rampion was a 1928 LaSalle Coupe Cadillac. She was in a nice fresh coat of red paint, only the best for his ride.

Some may wonder how Thorne got his hands on so much money. Well here's the answer, Thorne was in the alcohol trading business. Ever since the stupid government decided to prohibit alcohol in 1922 bootleggers have been sneaking all around, and it happened to be that Thorne took care of one of the biggest alcohol supply in New York City.

Ever since Thorne was able to walk he went against all the rules, it was second nature to him. When Thorne's father kicked him out 4 years ago he took advantage of the changing country and took what everyone wanted most, some blue magic.

For the first 4 years of his system, they seemed to get by fine. They started off with coffin varnish and now they have suppliers from South America, but now business wasn't going so well. Thorne and his men needed money and fast. They could sell some of there more rare drugs, but that would be a loss to the speakeasy, so they were going to have to steal money, blackmail someone, or maybe even take a damsel in distress as a hostage, mostly just Thorne's hobbies really.

Thorne had his mind on one of the richest individuals in the city, Sybil Mira. Miss Mira just happened to have a sweet innocent 16 year old daughter, Crescent Moon. It was handed it to him on a silver platter, it was amusing really, and the cherry on top was that he had bribed the kid at a market to tell him just when Crescent would be showing up.

Thorne looked down at his watch, a quarter to three, perfect. Crescent Moon would be there to pick up her weekly fruit unaccompanied.

When Thorne got to the run down market he stationed himself behind the small pottery vendor across from the fresh fruits. He studied everyone, looking for a small girl to approach Jimmy's fruit stand but all he saw so far were depressed people wondering around the cluttered street.

Soon a petite blond walked into the market and Thorne noticed everyone's faces lit up a touch. Crescent walked leisurely through the crowded path, greeting everyone she passed. She struck up 4 conversations before Thorne even got a decent look at her.

When he did see a clear view of her, Thorne was taken back. She was gorgeous. She had gold wavy strands of hair run down to her lower back. She had freckles sprinkled across her face, and the most genuine, brightest smile he had ever seen. Then there was her eyes, they were a ski blue color, that was so pure and so innocent.

Thorne shook out of his daze and laughed to himself, what in spades name was he thinking?

Never mind that he had a girl to fetch and it was going to be easy to swoon her with his natural charm.

Just like he said, on a silver platter.

* * *

 **Cress's POV**

Cress reached the small little apple stand a little later than usual, but never mind that. Cress greeted Jimmy with a smile, but he gave her a sad one in return. What was the matter with him?

"Jimmie," Cress asked "are you feeling alright?"

Jimmy's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a male voice that came from behind her.

Cress turned to the voice and she was shocked.

Standing in front of her was a very dashing man. He stood about a foot taller than her. He had brown hair that was slightly messy, it seemed that his hair was styled to perfection, but it had a natural look to it. He had bright blue eyes that she could be lost in for hours.

Then he cleared his throat and Cress realized that she had been staring, she immediately felt her pale cheeks flush pink.

"Crescent Moon Mira?" The stranger asked.

Cress nodded, not being able to trust her voice while his blue orbs looked at her.

"I am Carswell Thorne, but I do prefer just Thorne," he said with a dazzling smile.

Carswell Thorne, she had definitely heard that name before, but where? The name didn't give her a good feeling. Though Cress didn't waste another thought on it for a very charming man was there, talking to her, her!

Just then a very curvy woman with a dress that went to her mid thighs and was tight all around her, brushed herself against Thorne. Cress looked away, did this women have any self preservation? Goodness!

The woman ran her long fingers against Thorne's chest and she said in a seductive voice,

"Captain! I have been looking everywhere for you, it has been so long, what do you say we meet at a frolic pad and we leave off where we started?"

Cress rolled her eyes, ignoring the rest of the conversation, she gave Jimmy a quarter for a dozen apples and she walked away from the stand.

Cress was about 10 paces away from the stand when someone grabbed her shoulder. Cress whipped around to see who dare touch her and sure enough it was Thorne.

"Wait up blondie, you didn't give me the chance to finish talking to you."

Cress raised her eyebrows and said "Well Captain, it seemed that you were slightly preoccupied with God knows what, and besides it would be best if I made my way back to my residents, thank you."

"Let me walk you home!" Thorne said quite desperately.

"Oh dear me, thank you, but I will have to pass you up on that, and frankly Mr. Thorne, you are making me feel uncomfortable."

Thorne's smirk turned into a scowl, "Listen up blondie you are going to come with me."

Cress's eyes widened with fear as Thorne pulled her into an abandoned lot, it became darker, the sun from the early afternoon seemed to have disappeared instantly. Cress was truly terrified.

Thorne took out a gun from his jacket.

"Now Crescent, I would assume you don't want this to be shot at you?"

Cress stayed silent in horror.

"That's what I thought."

Thorne took Cress to a red fancy car and he told her to get into the trunk. Then before he closed the door he looked at her and she saw guilt in his eyes.

"Listen Cress, can I call you that? Never mind, anyway I promise not to hurt you if you just cooperate with me here."

"You're an awful human being" is all she said in response, with a trembling voice, far from the one she had used to greet Jimmy and the vendors, not half an hour ago.

As she felt the engine running she remembered where she had heard the name Carswell Thorne.

It was about a year and a half ago, Cress had been in her crime solving and mystery novel faze, so she thought it would be fun to solve a case of her own. Cress went digging into old police files to find a case (the police department absolutely loved her) she had found an unsolved one. It was a multi-crime investigation. All the cons were similar and the police tried to find the person they were tied to.

Cress found it, there was a man in a fancy red car, a LaSalle that gave a statement as a witness in every case, but the witness had never gave his name. That over confident bastard, she had thought. Cress thought she had found her guy. She had dug around to try to find the owner of the red Lasalle. After months of digging through countless aliases she found the guy, Carswell Thorne.

When she told the police about her suspicions the officers laughed at her saying that mayor, Kingsley Thorne had control over his own son. Cress let it go but she never doubted her findings.

Carswell Thorne's crimes ran through her head; stealing, bank robbery, kidnapping,

Murder.

 **Hello everyone:) I hope you will enjoy this new story! I plan on updating once a week, probably on Tuesdays. I am sorry for my lack of knowledge on the stock market for those who know I'm wrong.**

 **Marissa Meyers owns the Lunar Chronicles!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Just to let you guys know there are some parts of this chapter that are pretty dark and I apologize to those who are disturbed by this. With that I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Cress's POV**

After 20 minutes passed the vehicle came to a stop and Thorne killed the engine. Cress cowered towards the back wall of the trunk as Thorne cracked open the door. Sunlight streamed inside, forcing Cress to repetitively blink so her eyes would adjust.

Cress noticed that Thorne was holding a large brown sack over his shoulder, he brought it in front of him and he opened it in front of her.

"Get in," Thorne said simply.

Cress was numb with fear, Thorne was so calm and something about him was comforting but overall Cress was terrified and she couldn't move. She looked up at Thorne and her face must have conveyed with what she was feeling because Thorne spoke.

"The way we have to get in is through a club and there are some perverted men in there. Any cute petite blonde that crosses their path will not be leaving with a friendly kiss on the back of the hand."

Cress didn't respond and she looked up at him. She couldn't help but notice again, how good looking he was, but her mind was more focused on the fact that she may never see rays of sunshine again.

Cress can't remember how she got herself to move but as soon as she knew it, she was in the sack and off to the unknown while blinded.

Soon Thorne stopped and they had reached their destination.

Thorne set Cress down and she got out of the bag, but this time she was not greeted by sunlight, just a dingy looking basement.

Cress looked around, it was a small room, but bigger then her bedroom at Sybil's. The walls were cement blocks and the floor was cold on her bare knees. There was a small bed pushed in the corner with a worn maroon quilt draped across it.

That's all Cress saw before she dove to the opposite wall and stuffed her head into her lap and covered it by her arms.

"Are you going to keeping me here?" Cress asked in a trembling voice.

"That was the plan." Thorne mumbled.

Cress was shaking violently and she was in a cold sweat.

Thorne walked towards her, Cress was terrified of what was he going to do to her.

Thorne leaned down next to her and put his hand on her tear stained cheek. Cress's eyes widened and she felt herself freeze up again.

"Cress, like I said no one's going to lay a finger on you"

"That's what the psychos always say in the books," Cress whispered under her long breaths.

"Yeah well I'm not really into hurting others physically" responded Thorne.

How messed up was this guy? He just kidnapped her and he wants her to trust him? Cress then realized that his warm calloused hand was still upon her face.

Thorne realized the same and he quickly backed away.

"Umm, well you are, I mean I should probably should go." Thorne said while looking quite flustered.

Cress was confused about his loss of words, she had almost forgot the given situation.

"If you aren't going to kill me then why am I here?" Cress peeped out.

"Your mother, Sybil Mira has some money," Thorne answered.

She must of had a very confused look on her face because Thorne continued to speak with his ignorance returned.

"I know, I know, you are probably wondering what a handsome intelligent fellow like me is doing in the hole for money, well me too." Thorne said with a grin.

"Enjoy your stay," Thorne said as he walked out the door.

"I'll be here," Cress mumbled.

Once Thorne closed the door Cress began to ponder her situation, Thorne was planning on keeping her for ransom for some of Sybil's riches.

Cress honestly didn't know if Sybil would pay him or not. On one hand if she did it would be because she knows she can't continue being successful with the stock market without Cress. On the other hand that was more likely, she would say no and leave Cress here to die. Sybil had plenty of money to live the rest of her life doing minimal work. And Cress knew what Sybil thought of her, another mouth feed, yet it was she who was bringing in all the savings.

Cress would hope that mistress was feeling greedy and she would get Cress out of here so she could continue making money. Sybil was never truly satisfied.

Cress didn't realize she was sobbing until she found she was having a difficult time breathing because of how hysterical she was.

It felt like hours until Cress's tears subsided into a drizzle. She was still rolled up in a ball in the corner of the gray room.

Cress looked at her cell in a little more detail, there were two doors, the one farthest from her she assumed was the door she had entered from. The other door lead to a bathroom, there was a toilet, small sink, and a tiny shower, the bathroom was all a tan color, no different than the room itself.

Cress glanced at the book shelf, maybe she could distract herself from crying for a moment if her mind was dedicated and lost in the words of a book.

* * *

 **Thorne's POV**

Thorne couldn't deny that the blonde was cute. In fact, he thought he almost started blushing, him! Carswell Thorne! The only time he ever grew red was when he walked in on Wolf and Scarlet making out.

More importantly Thorne felt guilty. He did bad things daily, stealing and breaking stuff, stealing and breaking girls hearts, but the fear in Cress's eyes made him want to turn himself in and make sure she is always ok.

Though Thorne hadn't lied to her, he isn't going to hurt her, in fact Thorne wasn't even sure if he needed the money anymore.

The only thing Thorne kind of lied about was his handgun, he just keeps it with him to scare people away, to be honest the thing has never even been loaded.

Thorne did a lot of bad thing but he did not injure people, that was his rule. The only time he's had to get physical was when Aimery was being a pain in the ass so Thorne punched him in the face, and Thorne admits it was the best thing he's ever done, by far.

The only reason Thorne keeps Aimery around is because he is their connection to one of their biggest alcohol importers.

Aimery thinks he owns the place and Thorne usually lets him play that charade, but Thorne makes all the big decisions, like the one to kidnap Cress which he was starting to regret.

Aces he was getting soft.

* * *

 **Cress's POV**

Cress was engrossed in the words of a book when she heard the voices outside the door.

"I heard she's cute," one male voice said.

"Did you now?" Another voice said, "maybe Randy, when this all over you can ask her to go with you for a day out on the town."

"Really? You think so, Aimery?" Said the one she assumed was this Randy.

"No you idiot, besides she probably won't even see the light of day again anyways" said the other one, probably Aimery.

Cress's heart stopped were they talking about her? She knew Sybil wasn't likely to give Thorne the money but he would let her go right?

"What do you mean? The rich mother will give up all her money for her daughter right?" Randy said.

"Even if the moma gives the moola the prisoner will be killed to tie up all loose ends, you know how it goes don't you?" Aimery asked.

Then the voices faded away and Cress couldn't hear them any more. Cress found it hard to breath as she realized that she was dead. Thorne was going to kill her. Cress realized what was happening at that moment and she realized this wasn't a dream.

Cress felt betrayed he said he wouldn't hurt her. She started sobbing again. Cress was going to die and she had only had fourteen more months until she was free.

Cress felt so stupid. She had actually believed that the playboy would keep his word. Why did she have to be so naive!

There was no way she could escape. Even if she could get out of this room there were guards outside. It was hopeless.

Then Cress made a decision that changed her life, even if she didn't know it then.

If Cress was going to die she might as well live out her one wish, which was to stand up for herself. All she ever wanted was to tell Sybil that she was human too, and she had rights.

It was no different from these savages.

No more backing down from a fight, no more tears, no more of getting swooned by Thorne, she had a voice and she was going to use it, might as well right?

* * *

 **Thorne's POV**

Today was part two of Thorne's master plan. They were going to contact Sybil today, demanding money for Cress's return and Thorne felt sick about it.

Thorne went to the room where the rest if his people were waiting, the conference room he liked to call it, he liked how official it sounded.

There was Aimery, Wolf, Scarlet, and Ran. Thorne had many other people working, but these people were the ones who helped him keep the system going.

Wolf and Scarlet were sweethearts. Wolf was the first guy Thorne hired when he first started the business. Scarlet came 2 years back, Thorne wasn't sure why exactly she was working for him because she doesn't seem like a bootlegger, but he was pretty sure she needed the money to get medication for her grandmother. Oh and did he mention that it was those two that he wouldn't want to be against?

Wolf and Scarlet had been making googly eyes 6 months into Scarlet's arrival and ever since then they have been practically inseparable.

Ran is Wolf's younger brother, Thorne was pretty sure that the kid had gotten in more trouble with the law than Thorne did and Ran is 3 years younger than him.

Iko was the other main who doing something else at the moment and was absent from this event. Iko always was just kind of apart of all Thorne's operations. He can't really remember how she came to work with him but she was such a delight to work with, sometimes so delightful it's annoying.

When Randy, Cress's guard walked in with her behind him with her hands tied up, Thorne couldn't help but notice that Cress was standing up taller and walked with more confidence. Even more so than when she strolled through the marketplace when Thorne first saw her.

"Cress," Thorne greeted her.

"Captain," Cress said sarcastically.

Thorne was taken back, where was the shy girl that blushed every time he spoke? He kind of liked her this way.

"How was your slumber?" He asked with a smirk.

"Well, considering that I was locked in a room as a prisoner by people who are probably going to kill me, it was adequate, I have experienced better" Cress responded with a snarky grin.

Thorne felt a jolt in his chest of guilt.

Randy sat her down at the end of the table where they were seated at.

On the table were some microphones set up by their radio guy, who Aimery was in charge of finding, Thorne thought the guy's name was Jael, but he couldn't fully recall.

Jael set up some sort of speaker system, a telephone but bigger, Thorne was told. He wasn't really familiar with the new technology.

"Alright," said Jael "we are ready for the transmission."

Jael dialed Sybil's telephone number and they waited, and waited.

After about a minute Thorne became bored of waiting, "is she not home?"

"No," Aimery said " Iko reported that she arrived on her property half an hour ago."

"Then what's the hold up?" Asked Thorne.

Everyone turned to Jael, "umm" he shuddered. Aimery got up and gave Jael a deathly glare.

"Did you connect the dial to the power source?" Said a high voice.

Everyone turned to the girl at the end of the table, Cress. Then after the shock settled everyone turned back to Jael, who scurried out of the room.

Thorne didn't realize Cress, the petite innocent girl was a know it all and kind of, sassy.

Jael returned and they tried again, this time there was a greeting from the other side of the line.

"Hello" said a low annoyed voice, "this is Sybil Mira"

Thorne immediately went into his charm mode, here he mostly spoke of lies, here he felt he became machine as he blocked out all his feeling and did everything, and say everything that will get the task done.

"Miss Mira! What a pleasure, I have an offer you won't be able to turn down." Thorne greeted happily.

"And what is that?" Sybil asked.

"Well you see ma'am, we have your daughter here." Thorne responded.

"My daughter? " Sybil questioned "oh! You mean Crescent."

Thorne glanced at Cress and saw her roll her eyes.

"We have Cress here in our custody and in order for her to be released we have to have you pay the fine" He said.

"Goodness! What has that ungrateful child done now?" Sybil asked.

Thorne was confused, did Sybil not actually care for Cress? Thorne decided to continue and forget it.

"I'm sorry Miss, perhaps I'm being unclear, unless you pay me I will put a bullet in Cress's head." Thorne lied smoothly. Though after saying it he cringed.

The line was silent until she replied, "how do I even know you have Crescent there?"

"We have her right here, Cress?" Thorne said looking at Cress.

"Hi" Cress said softly.

"Crescent!?" Sybil demanded.

Cress hesitated and then mumbled "Yes, mistress."

Mistress? The more this went on the more curious Thorne became.

"How much?" Asked Sybil.

"$500,000"

"Your joking!" Sybil said laughing, "for that dreadful, clueless child? She's not even worth a dime."

"Fine by me, so would you like Cress's body returned to your residents or do you have any other disposal methods?"

Sybil was silent and Thorne didn't dare look up to meet Cress's gaze in fear that he would see her horrified expression.

"You have 3 days to decide" Thorne said simply, then he hung up.

Another transaction completed, it was all these things really were. He looked over at Scarlet and she was glaring at him.

"You don't have to be so gruesome." She said.

"Ah Scar, you know how these things work, it you don't like it you know where the door is." He responded smoothly, ignoring the lump in his throat.

Then Thorne glanced over at Cress and she looked scared, she had sank down in her chair and she was covering her face with her small delicate fingers. Thorne just wanted to hug her and tell her it would be alright, but Thorne was not going bankrupt after 4 years of hard work of building this empire! Yet he still felt guilty.

"Hey Randy why don't you grab something to eat, I'll bring Cress back." Thorne suggested.

"Yessir" Randy said and he scurried out of the room.

Thorne wanted to apologize to Cress, and deep down there was a voice that said he wanted to get to know her better, but he ignored it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry its been a while! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Hope you enjoy**

 **Cress's POV**

As Cress and Thorne walked down the long dim hallways back to her cell, Cress tried to stay as far away from Thorne as she could. The silence was very uncomfortable and Cress felt the need to say something that had been on her mind for a while.

"She won't give you the money for my return, I'm useless to her, now." She finally said.

"Well it's worth trying, no?" Thorne replied without looking at her.

"So then you do plan on killing me?" Asked Cress.

Thorne looked at her, his face had a sad expression. "No Cress, like I said no one here is going to hurt you."

"That's not what your henchmen were saying earlier," she said.

Thorne stopped, he then started laughing "Randy? Not to worry, that guy is like a lost puppy"

"No the other guy, Aimery I think his name was."

Thorne's face darkened, as if he were having a bad memory, "don't listen to that guy, he's bad news."

"Then why don't you just get rid of him, you are the boss, are you not?" Cress was confused, what exactly had this guy done to Thorne to make him think so lowly of him?

"Aimery just has the right connections in the right places." Thorne responded looking disappointed.

"So he's your supplier?" Cress guessed.

Thorne's head perked up and his eyes widened, confirming that she was correct.

"If you're not planning to kill me, and Sybil won't pay you, then are you just going to keep me in your basement for the remainder of my life?" Cress asked.

"I didn't think that far doll" Thorne said smirking.

No wonder you went bankrupt" she mumbled.

'What was that?" Thorne asked, his smirk not showing any strain.

"Hmm? Oh nothing" Cress said as a small smile of her own started to form.

"She's cute and she's clever"

Cress's eyes widened and her face turned a bright shade of red. "I-I w-wish I could say the same about you" She stuttered out.

The two of them continued to bicker until they reached her room.

Thorne opened the door for her and she glanced into the dingy space. Thorne had not yet motioned for her to go in so she stood still.

Then Cress felt a pull in her brain as if someone was taking her hand and forcefully making her jump off the cliff. A flashback.

She closed her eyes and suddenly lost her balance and she felt arms catch her but she couldn't place who. It's all dark except for the tiny crack of light underneath the closet door. It's warm and her skin is glistened and sticky from her sweat.

She hears screaming and crying. She realizes that it's her that's the origin of the horrid sound. Her tears choke her until she can't breath, fine anything to get away from this.

Then it goes black and she can't see the hope of the thin yellow line that got her through these times.

* * *

When Cress wakes up she keeps her eyes closed praying that when she opens them, she will be in the library surrounded books, hoping that she just fell asleep on the plush green sitting chair while reading a novel.

She isn't so lucky.

When Cress finally opens her eyes all she sees is the grey ceiling of the room she is held captive in by Carswell Thorne.

She tilts her head upward and she is surprised to see that across the room is Carswell himself sitting on a orange beat up chair that Cress hadn't seen in this room before. Yet that wasn't what surprised her, what did was that Thorne had small rimmed reading glasses on the bridge of his nose and his eyes were focused on a novel in his hands.

"What are you doing?" Cress asked in interest, she had not thought that the womanizer, alcohol dealer wouldn't have time to spend time on reading the words of a book.

"Oh sleeping beauty decided to wake even without the smooch by her prince charming I see," Thorne replied with a snarky grin while taking off the wire spectacles.

"You were watching me sleep?" Cress questioned, then she looked in her memory, she couldn't quite recall falling asleep or even arriving back to her cell at all.

Thorne's expression turned more serious, "Well yes, after you passed out I figured I should at least wait to make sure you were well."

Well? Passed out? Did she? She hadn't passed out since the last time she had flashbacks years ago. Oh no. The memory flooded back to her in a snap, the flashback, the darkness, the screaming.

Cress had been really good about her flashbacks for a long time, it must have been the thought of returning to this room that triggered her very unpleasant childhood memories.

"Whoa whoa, hey are you ok?" Thorne asked getting out of his chair, "what happened to you"

"Flashback" Cress whispered. She didn't know why she felt the need to share this information with him, maybe she felt she owed him an explanation after he sat in here for how long, waiting to make sure she was okay.

"You have those a lot?" Thorne asked settling back into the uncomfortable looking chair.

Cress finally looked up again and she looked into his concerned eyes, "not for about three years."

"What are they about?" He presses. Cress looked down at her dainty pale fingers that were clutching each other at the thought of the terrible memories.

"Right, sorry flashbacks are probably traumatizing." Thorne said bashfully.

It was silent for awhile.

Desperately Cress wanted to change the subject. "So I just saw the Captain wearing glasses and reading a book! What do you make that?" Cress teased, finding herself talking comfortably to him.

Thorne looked relieved that she had found a way to get away from any personal affairs. Besides sarcastic talk seemed to be more his expertise. "Well I heard that the Captain does enjoy the work of literature now and again."

"Oh?" Cress said while a smile spread on her lips, "and what do you think of those funny looking circles on his head that can't be called attractive in the world of scandales girls whooing at a man's feet?"

Thorne laughed, "I heard a man called Carswell Thorne came up with the trend."

"How intriguing, I don't believe the trend has spread beyond his own face." Cress shot back laughing when she saw his face filled with surprise.

"Oh haha," Thorne said in a fake hurtful voice.

"Do you want to learn of the real reason the captain wears glasses and reads books?" Thorne asked. Cress nodded with anticipation and she leaned forward as if she were hearing a delicate secret.

He leaned in as well even though the two were still five feet apart. Then he whispered, "I heard that the Captain actually has... hobbies."

Cress leaned back and gave a fake gasp, "No!" She said is disbelief. By then Cress was having a very difficult time keeping a straight face.

"Now you can't tell anyone, if this were to get out my reputation would be ruined," Thorne said with a smirk. "Swear you won't say a word!"

"I swear on Sybil Mira, my loving, kind, gentle mother, that your secret is safe with me." She sang.

"I'm glad we have agreed upon that." Thorne shot back.

"And what is of the glasses?" Cress asked, seeing that he hadn't explained in full.

"I've been known as great in many things, but never great in my eyesight." He laughed.

"Of course!" Cress nearly shouted, "every great villain has a weakness!"

"A villain?" Thorne asked while pretended to look hurt, "I didn't know you saw me as the bad guy."

"So you take yourself as a hero?" She countered.

Thorne opened his mouth then closed it, he seemed to be speechless. Cress smiled with pride knowing that she had won their little conversation.

"Well you got me there, m'lady."

Just then Randy opened the door to the room and he looked very surprised to see that Thorne was sitting in.

"Sir! I'm very sorry sir, I heard voices and I didn't realize you were in here, my greatest apologies, sir." Randy was now very red and he shuffled back out of the room.

"Well my dear," Thorne said after a bit of silence, "I best be off, some people may need assistance of their Captain."

"I presume so," Cress said turning a bit pink herself since he had called her "dear".

Thorne got up and put his glasses into his blue shirt's pocket and headed for the door.

Just as he was about to shut the door and depart from the room, he looked back to her and said, "by the way I like sassy, sarcastic Cress, she's cute."

If Cress wasn't red before she was now "And I-I l-like Carswell with glasses," she stuttered out.

Thorne smiled, "farewell" he said and the door shut.

Cress smiled to herself, never, never in her life had she felt so comfortably talking to someone, and to think that someone was a handsome man!

That night as Cress fell asleep with a smile, as she tried to not think about the fact that her new friend was her captor.

* * *

When morning came, or at least Cress assumed was morning, Cress was awaken by a chipper girl who couldn't be much older than her.

"Hello hello hello!" The girl sang chipperly, "I'm Iko, and I know you are Cress and I brought you breakfast!"

Iko placed a bowl of cornflakes on the side table and she continues speaking in a rush.

"It is so nice to meet you! I know this situation is pretty scary for you, but I just want to know we are a nice group of people, except for Aimery, he's terrible, and I'm not sure about that Randy guy either, he's pretty new. The rest of us are fabulous! That would include me, Wolf, Scarlet, who by the way are the cutest couple ever! And then there is Ran, he's kind of scary, I mean Wolf is scary too but Wolf is also cuddly like a teddy bear, and Ran is not cuddly, but neither was Kinney, my boyfriend but know that we are together we are as cuddly as we could be! And then there is Thorne who you already know pretty well" Iko finished and she wiggled her eyebrows at Cress.

Cress's eyes widened, "what are you implying?"

"Only that when you and Thorne get together you guys are going to be the cutest couple ever!" Iko said in a high pitch voice while she jumped up and down.

Cress felt her face turn to a violent shade of red, "what makes you think me and Thorne would get together?" Cress squeaked out.

"Only that he was in here for a long time last night" Iko winked, "and when Thorne finally came to our weekly poker game late last night, which I might mention that he is never absent from, he had the loviest, doviest eyes ever and he lost last night at poker! Lost! Thorne never looses, it was because he was daydreaming." Iko giggled.

"How do you know he was thinking about me, you know him pretty well, he was probably thinking about money or some other bimbo." Cress said in a quiet voice.

"Oh you are right! I know Thorne pretty well, and he has never had the look in his eyes."

"The look?" Cress asked.

"The look!" Iko squealed. "The look in a person's eyes when they truly care about someone, even if the don't know it yet, the look of when you can't stop thinking about that one person, the look when-"

Iko kept rambling on, did Thorne really like her? No, that was just silly talk, Iko was like her, a hopeless romantic who dreams of the fairytale ending. Thorne was definitely not that fairytale guy, and he was definitely not looking for a fairytale girl. Oh but his blue eyes, how they lightened when he was joking around with her, and his laugh, when he laughed his head would dip back and his hair would carelessly move with the rhythm of his voice, and his...

"The look when, well the look you have right now!" Iko finished.

Cress pulled out of her dais "hmm?"

"Oh my gosh!" Iko squealed in delight, "you guys are going to be so cute when you together!"

"It's not gonna happen, Iko." Cress said laughing at the idea.

"Just you wait!" Iko giggled and she skipped out of the room humming an unfamiliar tune, leaving Cress alone with soggy cornflakes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone! Remember on my first chapter when I said I would update once a week? Ha ha ha... *Cries* Anyway thank you to everyone who reviewed!**

 **Cress's POV**

It's Thursday and tomorrow was the day, the day that the ransom money was due.

Cress had a lot of time to think about what her future held, and what her next plan of action was, but all she could think about was Thorne's stupid, dumb, idiotic, cute smile.

Goodness what was happening to her?

Probably the lack of sunlight and human contact, though it's not like she got a lot of that at home either.

Besides thinking about Thorne in the last 5 hours since Iko had woken her, Cress had managed to read nearly the whole book that she had found when she first came here nearly 2 days ago.

Cress looked down at what she was wearing, it was her light pink dress that went down a little below her knees, it was full of dirty smudges and rips. She had taken a shower today, in the bathroom that was connected to the bedroom, but she didn't change. She wondered who's bright idea was to give the prisoner a shower but no clothes.

Thorne said he wouldn't hurt her, but this was torture to sit in her own sweaty dress.

The least they could have done was given her a brush, she didn't know what to do with her long locks so she just tied it in a bun on the top of her head.

Cress decided to pick up her book and finish it, anything to distract her from this situation... yep that's what she was going to call it now.

Cress had been reading for 30 seconds when there was a gentle knock on the door. Cress wasn't sure what to do, did she really have a choice in whether this visitor could come in?

Apparently not.

Thorne opened up the door in a big swish, he was holding a clear glass pitcher of red liquid, and had a mischief smirk on his face.

Cress, still leaning against the head of the bed with her book in her hands raised her eyebrows. She also didn't want to look down at her dress.

"Morning Cress!" He said with glee.

Why was he so happy? Did Sybil pay up?

No. The thought almost made Cress laugh. But she was pleased to see her friend, the guy who would laugh at her jokes, and the only guy she felt comfortable around to bicker.

"What brings you here Captain?" Cress asked eyeing the red pitcher in his hand. She also realized that it was becoming custom of her to call him "Captain" even as it started as a way she could make fun of him, she found it naturally rolling off her tongue.

Thorne noticed it too because his grin became even more mischief, if that was even possible.

Thorne himself was dressed sharp as usual with his fine tailored suit- but no tied, that must be what he considers "casual"

He invited himself in to the room shutting the door with his foot because his other hand was holding two glasses. Thorne sat down on the orange chair he had sat on last night and he put his parcels on the night table.

After sitting in silence for a few minutes Cress shut her book and put it down, then she sat up and crossed her legs. "Alright you sparked my interest what's with the red stuff?" Said Cress giving in.

"A peace offering."

Cress's eyebrows rose for the second time in the last 6 minutes. Cress waited for Thorne to continue, but he just sat with in fingers intertwined with each other across his stomach.

"This is where you elaborate," she said.

"Hmmm" Thorne shook his head, "do I really need to elaborate?"

"Oh yes." Cress said in a matter of fact way, "I want you to go over everything you wronged me on in the past 48 hours."

Thorne opened his mouth and then closed it then he finally said, "how about we just drink."

"As long as you don't poison me, the red color usually signifies a danger." Cress joked motioning to the red beverage.

"Baloney! It's just kool aid, Cress."

"Kool aid?" She questioned, "you hope to make it up to me by giving me a sugary red drink that was invented 2 years ago by a man doing experiments in his mother's kitchen? And give me it's artificial flavor made from powder, just to reduce shipping cost?"

"Yep" Thorne said confidently.

Cress shrugged, "okay."

Thorne started filling the glasses, "Cress?" He asked.

"Hmmm"

"Why the hell do you know the history of kool aid?"

She shrugged again, "why not?"

Cress had always been interested in modern advancements, plus this genre took up the majority of Mistress's library. Cress wanted to know how people functioned, what they liked, so she turned to that for some answers. Books were really the only things she could really count on to give her the happiness she needed, the knowledge she needed, and the comfort.

"When was the telephone invented?" Thorne asked.

"1876" Cress answered easily.

"The Radio?"

"1913."

"The television?"

"1925."

Thorne took a moment, he was really thinking, then he had a sly smile, "the jukebox"

Cress took a moment, she did remember reading about this new entertainment. She remembered thinking that she wanted to do that because her love of singing, but she would never actually go and sing in front of people. Aha! "1927!" She yelled with satisfaction while throwing her arms up.

"Damn Cress," He said while giving a small laugh."But I got one more for you."

"Let's hear it!"

"When was," he started, "the first human living on the moon?"

Cress laughed, "You're looney, Thorne"

"I'm looney!?" Exclaimed Thorne "You're the one who knows the the dates of innovative humankind changing inventions."

"What? You don't have any interests in where humankind is going?" She asks.

"I heard color television is a possibility," he answered.

"Oh come on, Captain Thorne doesn't have a loving passion for anything beside alcohol dealing?" Cress said with her lower lip sticking out.

"Well..." He started. "Wait how do you know I deal alcohol?"

"Oh no no no, now you're changing the subject because you DO have a secret passion!"

"Okay I tell you mine and you tell me yours," Thorne wagered.

"Deal," Cress agreed.

"I've always had a thing for airplanes. Ever since I was a kid I had a fascination with them, my Dad used to buy me models. Once my Dad even took me out on one when we went to Maine to visit my grandma when I was 10. I've always told myself that if I ever become stupid rich I would buy myself a plane, and of course learn to go about flying one. I guess you could say it's my dream." Then Thorne smiled, "how cheesy did that sound?"

Cress smiled too, "not at all cheesy, that sounds... nice." Then she took a first drink of the bright red juice, "oh wow that is sweet, this has got to be what those flapper girls drink!"

"Nah the crazy ones are probably straight up drunk." Thorne corrected. "Hey wait now YOU are stalling! Come on what is Crescent's secret passion?"

"Umm I like mysteries." Cress said noticing that she was blushing for the first time during their encounter.

"Cress, do you do anything besides read?"

"Well Sybil wasn't exactly keen on letting me go out and live my life." She looked down.

"But" he started, "if Sybil had such a leash on you I think it would have been a little more difficult to kidnap you."

"Sybil lets me go out and run errands once a week- Tuesdays, other wise I don't leave the house."

"Why didn't you just run away?" Thorne asks as she saw that his lips were stained red from the beverage, she self concisely wondered if her face was stained as well. She then put down the half empty glass.

"Oh I tried to run away plenty of times, but Sybil hired a private investigators to hunt me down every time"

Six times to be precise, she had run away six times. Once a year, except her first year with Sybil because she thought it was actually going to work out. But every time her investigator would track down, even as elaborate as her plans were. The farthest she had ever got away was to Philadelphia. She remembered she thought that she was home free, but then there he was a couple of days later waiting for her at the train station.

But maybe an airplane was the way to go, not that she could find money for that, she could barely save enough for the train rides. Plus she didn't think that would be relevant anymore because of her current... situation.

"Well Cress," Thorne said while clapping his hands together, "you have to get out in the world to see it changing and not just read about it after it's happened."

"You think I haven't tried?" She asked finding that she was becoming angry at him. "Do I need to tell you what Sybil did to me?"

"No, no, I'm saying it's time now to see the world!" He stood up waving his hands around dramatically.

"I would love to!" Cress said standing up too, "but I'm sort of locked up right now!" She motioned around her.

"Right" he said while sitting back down, Cress followed in suit, "so have you been to a film?"

"No."

"The carnival?"

"Nope."

"A concert?"

"Never been."

"Dancing? Cress, Please tell me you've been dancing!"

"I haven't" Cress said smiling at the way Thorne looked entirely devastated.

"Well that is something I can help you with!"

"Wha- what?" Cress had never been dancing and she wasn't even sure what that meant, she had read dozens of books of old times where they would have balls and such, but a modern 1920s dance, she hadn't a clue!

"Dancing! We have a club right upstairs and people are always hopping on Thursday nights!"

Cress was speechless- should she refuse? But Thorne already seemed set on the idea because he looked very pleased with himself.

"Hey Cress?"

Cress snapped her head towards him, worried he might come up with another bright idea.

"How do you know I'm a bootlegger?

Now this was something she could answer, "there are barrels everywhere, Randy reeks of alcohol and you have a speakeasy upstairs."

Thorne just smiled.

Cress pulled on one of the curls that had fallen from her bun.

* * *

 **Thorne's POV**

Thorne couldn't deny that he was excited for tonight.

He had never told anyone about him and airplanes. His dream seemed just so childish, but when he was around Cress he felt he could tell her all his troubles, and he loved it when she made fun of him for them.

Though he wanted to get to know her more, she seemed to be hiding a lot when it came to this Sybil.

Thorne walked into the kitchen where Iko and Scarlet were talking.

"Well ladies, I'm taking Cress out dancing tonight and I'm going to need you girls to borrow her a dress." Thorne looked down at Scar's red and worn hoodie, "preferably Iko."

"Oh shut your trap" Scarlet said.

Then Iko started squealing and jumping up and down."Oh my goodness, it's happening!"

"So you really like this gal?" Asked Scarlet.

"This gal has never been dancing, it's the civilized thing to do." He replied simply.

"Just like the civilized thing to do was to kidnap her?" Scarlet questioned.

"Ah Scar, why can't you just focus on my good qualities?" Thorne said while shaking his head.

Scarlet just rolled her eyes.

"So anyways I can count on you ladies to find Cress something suitable to where?" Then Thorne added, "and preferably something above the knee."

Iko took a break from squealing and rolled her eyes too.

Thorne started to leave the way he came in when he was stopped.

"Hey Thorne!" Scarlet said, he turned, "it all starts with a dance."

Iko nodded.

"You guys are just jealous that I never asked you to dance."

"Oh Thorne!" Scarlet said flirtatiously, "I think you are forgetting how we met."

"I would never forget that Scar, don't worry" he said with a wink, then Thorne started to leave for the second time while saying, "And Scar, maybe if the whole thing with you and Wolf doesn't work out..."

"In your dreams, Captain!" Scar yelled back at him.

Thorne laughed, but he couldn't help but think about the way Cress called him Captain as a joke, and the way that every time she said that word he got butterflies in his stomach.

Thorne also couldn't ignore the fact that he couldn't wait to hold Cress nice and close while dancing tonight.


	5. Chapter 5

**Cress's POV**

What on Earth had she done? Cress agreed to go in public with Carswell and dance.

Dance, something that she was far from familiar with.

And with Carswell Thorne! The funny, mischief, gorgeous Carswell Thorne, that had somehow shown interest in little her. She who had admitted that she lived in a damaged home, and had a thing for... mysteries? Had she really said that? Ughhhhhh!

How could she get out of this? Maybe she could say she was sick? Or that her feet hurt? All valid excuses, but did she really have a choice? Was she being held against her will? It's not like she had tried to escape, maybe she could pull it off.

But the small voice inside her head said that she couldn't wait to have Thorne's eyes all on her. But maybe they wouldn't be on her at all.

Thorne would probably try to show her how to dance. Then see she was a lost cause and make an excuse to slip away to dance with another, taller, cuter, flapper girl. Probably.

Then her door opened unexpectedly, though she had become use to people moseying in and out of her cell.

Instead of Thorne, who seemed to be the only one who would come in, she saw two women and her heart slowed down. She hadn't even noticed that it was pumping faster with the expectancy of a certain brunette man in a suit to barge in (again).

The two girls who came in were two somewhat similar faces, one was Iko, who had came in just this morning and the other was a red head girl, who Cress recognized from the meeting where Thorne called Sybil and asked for money.

"Hello again Cress!" Iko greeted.

Cress just nodded with a small smile, what could they possibly be doing here? Maybe Thorne realized how dumb the idea was to take her out so he sent a couple of his henchmen to tell her he changed his mind. Her heart sank.

"This," Iko motioned her hand to the redheaded girl, "is Scarlet. She is the one who is dating Wolf, and like I said they are adorable! Wolf is such a scary guy, but when Scar is in view he turns into a soft teddy bear!" Iko gushed, "and don't get me started on tomatoes! A little backstory for you, see-"

"Iko" The girl, Scarlet interrupted.

"Oh right," Iko started again, "we are not here to talk about Wolflet, we are here to talk about Cresswell!"

"Cresswell?" Cress asked.

"Oh! You and Thorne's ship name!" Iko said with a squeal.

"Ship name?" Cress asked.

"Yes! My OTP!" Iko exclaimed.

"OTP?" Cress questioned, becoming even more confused.

"Yes! One true pairing! It means that-" Iko was cut off by Scarlet again.

"Sorry, Iko came up with a bunch of terms to express how much she is involved in all of our love lives." Scarlet said looking amused.

"It's not just me!" Iko huffed, "we are the Fangirls!"

"Yeah yeah," Scarlet said laughing, "come with us, Cress."

Cress jumped up from the bed. "Where are we going?"

"We've got to get you ready for tonight!" Iko said while moving her eyebrows suggestively.

Cress blushed.

Thorne did not skip out on her! Wait she wasn't suppose to be excited to go dancing with him tonight!

"And this room is not very," Iko pause and looked around, "equipped for this situation. So we are going to transfer you to another room."

Iko started to skip out of the room, Scarlet and Cress followed.

Cress started to ask, "is she always this-"

"Chipper and very invasive?" Scarlet finished.

Cress nodded.

"Unfortunately."

When they reached Cress's new room she could see it was a huge step up from her cell.

The room was at least double the size than she was use to. The walls were covered with thick light pink curtains and tapestry. On the far wall there was a glamorous bed with an infinite amount of pillows. There were comfy luxurious chairs littered around the space and a huge dark wooden wardrobe.

Cress was speechless.

"See this use to be Scar's room," Iko said, "but apparently she didn't see it fit to her needs. So now she and her grandma moved in with Wolf in his town house after they lost their farm, another fun story, see-."

"Iko." Scarlet said becoming impatient.

Iko tilted her head in confusion. "Right, the bank is holding on to it until Scar can buy it back, but on top of medical bills and debt-"

"Iko!" Scarlet insisted.

Iko shut her mouth.

They sat her down on one of the chairs and they got to work.

"Cress, darling, you really must cut your hair! This is no longer the 1910's, us women don't have to keep our hair long, it's far easier when it's short and out of the way!" Iko said motioning to her own bouncy chin length black hair.

"I suppose." Cress said warily.

"And why stop at that?" Iko asked, "why do we need to keep with the natural color? I'm thinking about dyeing mine blue."

"What would Kinney say about that?" Asked Scarlet.

Iko shrugged, "he loves me so he will have to deal."

Cress gave a small laugh.

Then she heard a snip. Iko was actually cutting her hair.

Cress's heart did a jump and she felt this rush. This is what she wanted. She wanted to be this confident, brave girl. She wanted to be herself and because of Sybil she was never aloud this be this girl. She was only known in town as the rich whore's shy daughter. That's not who she was.

She was Cress and this is what Cress looked like. Cress started to feel giddy.

After the trimming was done Iko started to use a tweezers to pluck her eyebrows, she sure hoped that Iko knew what she was doing.

Scarlet stood in front of Cress, as far as she knew Scarlet hadn't done anything to her. Well except convince Iko not to dye Cress's hair, which she was very grateful for.

"Cress," Scarlet started. Cress didn't move because she feared that Iko would stab her in the eye with the hair trimming device, but she answered with a, "hmmm?"

Scarlet was quiet for a moment. "Cress, Carswell has been with many women."

Cress raised her eyebrows. "Hey!" Iko yelped.

"Sorry!" Cress said urgently.

"It's alright, I am nearly finished, besides we should start on your hair!" Iko said cheerfully as she pulled a tong devise and started using it on her hair. Cress was very familiar devices but not with these beauty ones.

"Well," Scarlet continued, "every women he's actually been with are gullible whores."

"Umm Scar," Iko said, "I don't think you're helping."

"Right, I guess I have never tried to say anything nice about Thorne." Scarlet said looking as if she was struggling to get the words out.

"Scar" Iko was losing her patience.

"Anyway, Thorne is one of my best friends, he's always there to make you smile or feel better. Once he knows you, he does everything he can to protect you and make you happy, like for instance he's the one that knocked some sense into Wolf, and gave him the courage to ask me on a date. He protects his friends. What I'm trying to say is that you should give him a chance, but don't let him in easy make him work for it."

Cress was quiet for a moment trying to understand what was just said to her.

Then she laughed and Scarlet frowned.

"I'm sorry," Cress said while trying to settle down, "but you do know that the man put a gun to my head and forced me into the trunk of his car right?"

Scarlet laughed, "I like you Cress. By the way that gun has actually never been loaded."

" **That** gun" Cress pointed out.

"None of his guns have ever been fired, he just uses it as a way to freak people out." Iko explained.

"And hey! This might sound crazy but Wolf kidnapped me too, he apologized, there was a reason, and I love him, and well that's how we met." Scarlet said while turning the color of her hair.

"And you want to know how Kinney and I met?" Iko asked, and she continued without and answer. "Well it was during a deal and the guns were out and he shot me in the leg." Iko sighed with a dreamy look in her eyes.

On the other hand Cress was horrified.

Scar saw her face and laughed, "hey we never said we had fairytale stories, but I'd say we have damn good ones!"

Cress laughed.

"And your's has barely started!" Iko exclaimed.

"Wait so, Thorne has umm, well expressed interest in me?" Cress stuttered.

Scar sighed and looked at Iko sadly and Iko looked back knowingly. "Thorne does have a history of being forgotten. He has a tough shell but like Wolf, I think there's a big softie behind the crude jokes. Like I said earlier Cress, give him a chance but don't get too attached until you know that he won't skip town."

Cress tried to tug on her hair, a terrible habit of hers but Iko had just done it up fancy so she put her hands in her lap. "I have never had a friend in my life, let alone any kind of relationship, I haven't a clue! I barely even know Carswell!" Cress bursted out.

"Well now you have two." Iko said cheerily.

"What?" asked Cress.

"Friends, now you have two friends, Scar and I," Iko explained.

Cress smiled, right she had two friends, friends, people who she could tell her problems to, people who would be there for her anytime she was in need, people to laugh with her, and to cry with her. She always did want friends.

Iko then helped Cress into a black dress and the work was done.

Iko covered Cress's eyes with both of her palms and then someone grabbed her hand, Scarlet. The two girls lead Cress across the room.

"Tada!" Iko said as she took her hands away from Cress's eyes and she found herself in front of a full length mirror.

And then Cress saw her reflection.

It was breathtaking. No, she was breathtaking.

She was wearing a black silk dress that went down to right above her knees, then strings of black strips of fabric and beads went down to right below her knees. Her blond hair was cut up to a few inches below her jaw. The strands of her hair were curled to make it look as her hair were calm waves on the ocean. Her lips were painted red, her eyelids were a grey color and her eyebrows were trimmed into thin curved lines.

Cress smiled and then she spun around as the beads hanging on her dress flared out.

"Oh thank you! Thank you!" Cress said while throwing her arms around Iko, then Scarlet.

She felt so much joy. Such a simple feeling that she had rarely felt.

"There is no way Thorne can keep his hands off you looking like that!" Iko squealed.

Scarlet nodded in agreement.

"Well Cress, Thorne will be here to show you out in about half an hour, so now is the time to get out some nerves." Scarlet said.

The two women started walking towards Cress's new door.

"Wait!" Cress yelled, they stopped and turned to her. "Ummm there is one other thing, I don't know how to dance."

Scarlet and Iko snuck a glance at each other and then they smirked.

"If there is one thing Thorne can do, it's teach a girl how to dance." Scarlet said smirking.

* * *

 **Thorne's POV**

Thorne was on his way to Cress's room when the worst person in the world decided to get in his way.

"Your taking the girl out dancing?" Aimery yelled.

"Yep." Thorne said as he tried to make his way around him.

"This is Kate Fallow all over again," Aimery said with a laugh.

Thorne stopped dead in his tracks and looked Aimery in the eye for the first time in their encounter. "I was never in love with Kate Fallow." He stated.

Aimery smirked, "oh so you're in love with the new prisoner?"

"Don't believe that's what I said."

"It's what you meant" Aimery said while sneering.

"I don't think I have to explain anything to you." Thorne said.

"You still have yet to deny your feeling for the girl."

"I don't love the girl, satisfied?" Thorne said trying not to lose his patience.

"Are you satisfied?"

Thorne was taken back. he pushed past Aimery and walked away. He wasn't one to walk away from a fight, but something Aimery said made his anger vanish.

He had only known the girl for two days and she had impressed him every moment, but love? Thorne knew for a fact that he had never loved anyone or anything. Well maybe his dear mother, though she always sided with Father. Maybe he loved his car, but it's not like his car loved him back.

Did Cress love him back? Wait no he didn't love Cress, he didn't even know what loving meant.

And what was he going to do with this ransom? If Sybil paid he couldn't just let Cress to go back to the nightmare of a mother. And if she didn't pay? Thorne wasn't going to kill her, but could he just keep her locked up? Or if he did let her go free, would she want to come back? Plus he was still bankrupt!

No he wasn't going to think about this anymore, he was just going to focus on having a nice time tonight with Cress, his... friend.

He arrived at Scarlet's old room, and Cress's new one. The last time he was here Wolf punched him because he was snooping or something.

But when Wolf proposed, Scarlet moved in with with him. Scar said that he was the only person they told because they didn't want attention on planning the wedding and children or something.

Thorne went to knock on the door but stopped because he heard a sweet voice.

 _"She comes in through the skylight_

 _For the door is not allowed_

 _Her eyes are bright as little stars_

 _Her dress is like a cloud"_

Thorne new this song. His mother use to sing it to him when he was just young. He wondered where Cress had heard it.

When Cress started the next verse he sang along quietly.

 _"She holds me very kind and tight_

 _And talks about her land,_

 _Where all the flowers are boys and girls_

 _with mothers close at hand_

 _But when I want to-"_

The music stops abruptly and Thorne stops as well.

The door swung open and Cress's eyes widened.

"Hey Cress I'm-" Thorne was cut off when he saw her appearance.

She was jaw dropping gorgeous, and that could be proven when his dropped to the ground.

"Crescent Moon!" Thorne said while running his eyes up and down her body. "Iko really knows what she's doing."

Cress blushed and gave a small smile which made her beauty only grow.

He arched his arm like a c and motioned Cress to link arms with him. "Well madame the grand ballroom awaits."

"Why of course Captain, we wouldn't want to keep any of the guests waiting." She said while taking his hand.

* * *

 **Hello!**

 **As always, thanks to everyone who reviewed! Next chapter will be the dance!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello! Sorry it has been a very long time since my last update. I hope to get at least one other chapter in this week because I have been given the time! Thank you to everyone who reviewed; as always I love you all! I hope you guys enjoy this especially long chapter!**

* * *

 **Cress's POV**

Cress and Thorne started to make their way through the maze of halls, and the farther they traveled the more pungent the alcohol smell became.

Thorne looked absolutely striking in his neat black suit, a white dress shirt underneath, and his hair slicked back.

She tried to think of something clever to say, but nothing came to her.

Finally, they arrived at the source of loud noise and strong aromas.

There were about 12 men in matching suits that had instruments in hand. Loud jazz music flowed all through the room.

So many people, people dancing.

One of the musicians, with the trumpet, began a solo and Thorne led Cress out into the crowd.

Thorne started stepping side to side, and he swayed with the notes that came out of the trumpet.

He then stopped because he noticed that she had not joined him in movement.

He leaned down to her ear and spoke so she could hear him over the loud environment. "Are you alright?"

His breath tickled her skin and she shivered.

Thorne pulled away and looked at her waiting.

"I don't-," Cress started, but Thorne had his hand at his ear showing he could not hear her.

She waited for him to bend again, so he could hear her, but he just stood there smirking.

Cress rolled her eyes, then she got on her tiptoes and grabbed his collar, with her shaking fingers, to pull him down so she could get her mouth next to his ear.

"I don't know how to dance," she said simply. Then she let go of him and let out a shaky breath.

Thorne's grin grew more mischief.

He bent down again. "You could have just said that, blondie." Then he grabbed her hand and set his other hand on her waist.

Cress put her free hand on his shoulder.

She was becoming even more nervous. This was real, Carswell's hands were on her, and when she looked up she saw his bright blue eyes were on her too.

Thorne started to sway her back and forth with the notes.

These small amounts of movement were enough. Though it was nothing compared to the people around her who were kicking their feet and doing spins.

Then all of a sudden, she was spinning. She let out a yelp, and looked down at her dress which was spinning with her. The beads were flaring out around her, and when they stopped they softly, banged on her bare thighs.

When she stopped, both of Thorne's hands were on her hips.

And Cress, well she found herself smiling, and uncontrollably at that.

Thorne spun her again, and she started laughing.

This time when Thorne caught her from her spin, she found that she was dancing to the music on her own, with a smile plastered on her face.

Thorne's grin grew as well when they started matching their movement to the people around them.

Cress tripped over her own feet countless times but she didn't find herself caring, besides, Thorne always steadied her.

Then in the midst of turning and spinning, he dipped her!

Cress leaned up to his ear, "you know this is a cliche, right?"

"You know you read too many books, right?" Thorne responded.

Cress shrugged but blushed when she realized how close their faces were.

Then he whipped her up into another spin, and Cress couldn't contain her joyful giggles.

After, well she didn't have a clue for how long they were dancing for, they found themselves on the other side of the club.

"I could go for a drink," Thorne yelled.

With Thorne, and probably herself red in the face from the high pace of movement, Cress nodded and she followed him through the crowd.

Hand in hand, Cress and Thorne shuffle through the crowded room of drunk women in fluffy, short cut dresses; and drunk men missing their top hats.

Cress was jerked backward from the collar of her dress and her dainty fingers were ripped from Thorne's strong ones. She lost her balance and fell back into a body behind her while Thorne whipped around.

Cress was spun around, and greeted by a large man, he had a shaggy, black beard, crinkled skin around his eyes, and wide blue eyes that looked as they were demanding her of everything.

"Do you know where I can find a Carswell Thorne?" The man asked.

"Umm," Cress mumbled as we was grabbed from behind, again. When she stumbled backwards, gentle arms caught her and held her.

Cress heard Thorne's voice right above her, when she looked up it was him who was holding her safely against him. He moved her to a standing position and stepped in front of her, protectively.

"What's this about?" Demanded Thorne.

The man who had grabbed her had a snarky grin on behind his scraggly beard, "I'm looking for a Carswell Thorne, you know him?"

"Know him?" Thorne asked, laughing. He then grabbed a blond man in a simple blue suit walking by, pulled him close, and whispered, "Go fetch Wolf for me, would you?" The blond man nodded and scurried off.

"So you know him?" The bearded man asked expectantly.

Cress noticed that two other men were standing idly by watching, anticipating.

"Yeah, yeah," Thorne said, "he's my boss, he's this real handsome feller, who all the ladies fall for." Then Thorne turned back at her and winked.

Cress had been grasping to his arm, and he had winked at her. Did Thorne mean that he knew she was falling for him, wait, she was not falling for him, or did he wink because he was letting her in on these lies he was telling the beard guy?

"Well he screwed me out of a lot of money." The man said while getting red in the face.

"Hmm, yeah he tends to do that," Thorne agreed.

The man and his buddies shrunk away, and Cress felt a presence behind her. She looked up the see Wolf standing there with a straight face.

"So this is Carswell Thorne?" the beard guy asked.

Wolf glanced down at Thorne and Thorne nodded.

"Yep," Wolf said. He had a really low voice, Cress wasn't surprised. But she could not imagine him being a giant teddy bear, even around Scar, as Iko had said.

The bearded guy reclaimed his stance and rolled up his sleeves. Wolf moved from behind us to beside us.

"Well then there's some unfinished business." And with much hesitation in his eyes, the bearded man took a swung at Wolf's face, but when his fist was close to it's target Wolf had grabbed it.

Then Wolf punched him in the jaw, and he fell backwards.

The jazz music had stopped and Cress heard a familiar French woman, "Ze'ev!" Scarlet yelled.

Scarlet took her place next to Wolf.

"Wait, you're not Carswell Thorne?" Asked The man who was still holding his face.

"Uh no," Scarlet said while laughing, "that would be the dumbass over here," she said while pointing to the Captain.

"Come on Scar," Thorne pouted.

"Get him!" Yelled the bearded man, who was still on the floor, to his henchmen.

Everyone was still, then Thorne grabbed Cress's hand and they bolted through the people towards the door.

"What are you doing idiots?" Was the last thing Cress heard before the jazz music commenced.

Thorne led Cress through the endless hallways, hand in hand.

And Cress, well she couldn't stop laughing. This lifestyle that Thorne lived, it was such a rush!

Finally, after Cress's laughing had died down, they had climbed a few sets of stairs, and even Thorne was getting short of breath, they reached a door at the top of the stairs.

Thorne opened it it, "after you," he said while motioning for her to enter.

Or rather exit, Cress walked out onto, what appeared to be on the roof of the warehouse. It was quite chilly as the late May air took her but she went numb for a different reason.

Before her was this view, the view of a beautiful New York City skyline. The yellow glows of lights from the crowded building on the skinny streets took her breath away.

"Like it?" Thorne asked.

When Cress turned around she was surprised to see that Thorne appeared to be, timid.

"It's enchanting," Cress answered gleefully.

Thorne broke into a smile, then he guided her to two lawn chairs side by side facing the view.

Cress wrapped her arms around her exposed skin, and was about to sit when Thorne stopped her, "oh, umm, wait." Cress looked at him, puzzled.

Then he took off his dress jacket and walked to Cress and assisted her to putting on.

Cress grinned, "you know this is another cliche?"

"Oh hush with your cliches, Cress, I'm just a gentleman." He joked.

"Oh, of course, Captain" Cress countered as she sat down, but snuck a few glances at Thorne as he loosening the tie around his collar of his white dress shirt.

Once they were both seated they sat in comfortable silence gazing upon New York.

"I should have gotten kidnapped years ago," Cress joked.

"Why's that?" Thorne asked.

Cress turned to Thorne, startled to find that he was already staring at her, she looked back at the night.

"Because, this is the most fun I have ever had, I've met amazing people and have done things that I could only dream of doing." She spilled.

"Like sipping Kool Aid with me in a basement?" He joked, but although his mouth was smirking, his eyes were serious.

"Yes," she said seriously.

After a few more minutes of silence Cress decided to break the silence, again, "so i got to know, what got you into the alcohol business?"

Thorne grinned. "It's a long, boring story, Cress."

"I've got the time, well until sunset tomorrow, that's when the ransoms due right?" She joked.

Thorne flinched.

Cress did something old Cress would just eep at , but this Cress would do, She grabbed Thorne's hand. His head jerked towards her in surprisement, and she gave him a soft smile.

Thorne gave her hand a small squeeze. "Well you may or may not know this, with all your researching habits and such, but my father is the mayor of the town."

"Your father is Kingsley Walker?" Asked Cress, "Then what about Thorne?"

"That story is for another time, anyway my pop was a soldier in World War I, and he was a damn good one, well according to his infamous stories. When I was kid I worshipped those old war stories, they were told to me before bed every night. I started to gain hope, and started having these fantasies as a heroic Carswell, Captain, if you will" Thorne let out a small smile then continued, "when I was a teenager I started getting into a lot of trouble, mostly stealing, counterfeiting and such, mostly things that helped me with success. Those old war stories started to becoming nightmares as I kept up my disastrous choices, and lead a trail of disappointment my father had for me. Finally after I stole a car, my final, grand way at the end of the 11th grade as a class joke, I got arrested.

"Dad bailed me out and he let all of his anger go on me. He had lived the recent months, ignoring me, hoping I suppose, that my bad decision making would solve itself. Dad chewed me out that night, and good.

"He said things to me like how I could never be a soldier, things he knew would destroy me because of the dreams he knew I had from his influences. He said I could never be brave or selfless, like the men who are honored. He said that with my lying and with my cons, I could never get anywhere. Little did he know that the 20's were surfacing and there were perfect opportunities for liars and cheaters like me, so I left.

"I was homeless for about a week, that's when I met Kate Fallow. She was this nice girl with a rich Daddy. She had inherited the majority of his money, and she was living in a small apartment on the upper east side. I told her about my situation, or lied about my situation, I had told her I was a small city boy with a big a dream with some other fluffy shorelines. Kate pitied me, and gave me a place to live.

"In the following weeks I went out trying to find nifty ways to gain status in the city, that's when I met Aimery Park. Aimery was running his own alcohol deal at the time, and I wanted in. Instantly we despised each other because his rude, rather evil personality, and he saw me as an obvious challenge, but I was desperate to do something, so I made nice with him, and he hired me.

I worked with him and the other people there, like Wolf and Kinney. I learned the ins and outs of the trade, and I learned the secrets to success. I decided I was going to start my own Speakeasy. I had gained quite a bit of money from working for Aimery, but it wasn't enough to cover the cost of a new warehouse. That's where Kate came in.

"I had been living with her for a long time, and we had developed a trusting to each other, something I decided to use to my advantage. One night I talked to her about my dream, and how I wanted to start a business of my own (without specifying the business type of course), and she came up with the clever idea for her to lend me the money I needed to get started. I greedily took the money, purchased the warehouse, and hired two lovely women to get me started, Scarlet and Iko.

"Word spread around that I had started this new, popping place and a large chunk of Aimery's staff came to work for me instead, and my dealing was growing very quickly.

"When Kate asked me about how the business was going I was very vague, but she never questioned it. One day she ended up following me to work, she found out exactly what I was doing. She was broken, betrayed, and cheated. I am quite certain she had fallen in love with me, something I was completely oblivious to at the time. I didn't come up with any excuses, I just hung my head low."

Cress felt a slight pinch in her heart, did he love Kate back? Before she could ask Thorne continued.

"That night, when I returned to our apartment all her things were gone, and it feel like the space was haunted. I moved into the warehouse here, and kept up what I was doing. Quickly we started failing, and without a money source, it looked as if I would have to start from scratch again.

"On my last hope, I went into a bank, with a mask, a gun, and shoved as many hundreds into my pockets as I could. The Speakeasy got back on it's feet, and I have never looked back. All the people who are my friends, despised the ways of my success, but stick by my side all this time.

"That's why they are all here I think, Scarlet, Wolf, Iko and the others, the good ones. They come to me to get there start, get there money, so they can save up, and jump to the next stage in their lives. They all deserve that next stepping stone to the top of the world, except Aimery, of course."

Thorne then became quiet as he looked out into the city.

Cress was quite taken back by the lengthy and detailed confession.

"And you?" She asked.

Thorne looked at her, questionably.

"What's your next big step up into the world?" She asked more specifically.

Thorne gave a soft smile, "I think this is it, this is all I get. I have found to much success through other's pain and misfortune. I don't deserve the next step up."

"This can't be it." She wagered.

"This is it, I'll just be a rich bootlegger for the rest of my days, or until the cops catch me." He said.

"A bankrupt bootlegger," Cress corrected.

He laughed, "yes, I'll be a bankrupt bootlegger."

"And suppose there was a next step, what would it be?" Cress asked. It broke her heart to see him just give up, to have what he thought all he needed.

"I try not to think about it, it gets my hopes up and then I just think of cheap easy ways to achieve them." He said looking down.

It followed with silence and she assumed that Thorne did not venture into his own misfortunes very often, that's what explained his light, upbeat, crude personality that everyone seemed to love, yet despise.

"At the time I thought this was such a charmed life, I had my car, and I was bossing people around, but who would have thought that it would all lead to a life full of guilt and regrets about how you messed up every waking moment." Thorne said with such clarity, it looked as if he had never said these words aloud, and he had just been denying this fate he had designed for himself.

"You have not messed everything up, Carswell," he looked up when Cress spoke his real name, "you have comforted me, reassured me that there is good in the world, even though you have gotten me here by a bad deed, by doing so you have opened my eyes to the possibilities of the real world, of real people, real, good people.

"Cress" Thorne sang,"you have been reading too many heroic redemption novels."

She laughed, "that may be true but authors only write what they know."

Thorne noticed Cress's shivering, bare legs. "Blimey, Cress! Your legs are going to freeze right off!"

She didn't argue because her teeth began to chatter.

"I know where I can find some blankets," Thorne said while getting up. He headed towards the roof door, back into the indoors and Cress followed.

The pair went down a flight of stairs, and Thorne opens the door to what appeared to be a closet.

Inside was Scarlet and Wolf kissing passionately in the small confines of the closet.

Cress lets out a small giggle and Thorne does a full laugh.

The couple jerk apart and Cress sees Scarlet's eyes go from wide from surprisment to set with rage. "Thorne!" She yells angrily, while Wolf just looks frazzled.

"That's our que to run," Thorne tells Cress as he grabs her hand and they dart down the many steps, laughing.

"I'll kill you!" We hear a angry redhead yell.

After many twists and turns of wind blowing through her short, bouncy hair, they finally reach Cress's new room.

They are both breathing heavy and they are both laughing.

Cress laughs like she has never laughed before, struggling to breath and her cheeks, red.

Soon her out burst dies down to a giggle and she notices Thorne looking at her with a gleeful smile.

Then without warning, Thorne takes Cress's warm cheeks into his hands, and he's kissing her.

Cress is shocked at first and then she closes her eyes and kisses back.

All too quickly, it's over when Thorne pulls back, suddenly.

Thorne looks flustered as he says, "well that was, umm, a wild night! I suppose I'll see you in, well in the morning." He turned around and runs off, leaving Cress a gape.

Cress was shocked. Thorne kissed her! Captain Carswell Thorne kissed her!

He had shared his life with her and poured out what was eating him on the inside to her that night, she thought she would never get to be that person, a person who people confined to. And he kissed her!

Cress touched her lips with her pale fingers and sat on her bed. It was clarified, she had fallen for Thorne, and not for the Captain's obnoxious charms, but for Carswell's desires and sentiment.


	7. Chapter 7

It's 8:55 am. It's a cloudy Friday. A man is sitting on a bench in the park. He has a hat covering most of his face. He is scanning over a newspaper, but he is looking for someone, someone who was suppose to meet him in 5 minutes.

A women approaches the bench. She has a large hat on and she has a large shawl that drapes over he shoulder, she sits next to the man.

The man looks relieved, but neither of them speak for a while.

Finally the women speaks. "Aimery," she greets him.

The man nods.

"You requested my presence, we weren't to meet for another month, has something come up, is something wrong?" he asks.

"Someone has messed with the wrong women." She responded simply.

"Ma'm, I'm afraid I don't follow."

"We are compromised you idiot, we were so close." The women scolds.

"What?" He exclaimed, "we have been working on this for nearly 2 years!"

"I need you to finish what your part now." She says.

"What? You can't be serious! I need at least another year." He yells, he is now standing. "What happened, you said you could get the money."

"It's not the money you idiot! The girl was kidnapped!" The woman says while staying seated, and a calm look on her pale face.

"The girl?" He asked.

"Yes the girl, the genius experimentalist I told you about."

"Wait you are telling me that the main part of completing the plan is a girl?" Aimery demands.

"Yes, a 16 year old girl, she was kidnapped by some maniac, Carswell Thorne." She says.

Aimery stands in shock. "Crescent Moon is the experimentalist?"

"How... What? How do you know her?" The women asks is confusion.

"Thorne is my boss at the speakeasy," he said, "the girl is staying at our facility."

The women has a look of relief, "Perfect, this is good, all you have to do is get her back to me, I will finish her training and everything will go as planned and _she_ never has to know there was a disturbance."

The man starts nodding his head.

The women stands up and starts walking away, her drapes following closely behind her.

"Wait!" Aimery shouts the the women.

The women turns around.

"Are you Sybil Mira?"

The women smiles, "took you long enough," and she walks off.

* * *

 **Aimery's POV**

Aimery trudged through the dim lit halls of this forsaken warehouse.

He stopped outside the kitchen when he heard speaking, and because of his tendency and preference of knowing what other people didn't, he stood near the doorway to watch through the crease in the door, right between the jam and the wooden pane.

It seemed that it was the annoying, good looking lass, Iko; the scary ginger, Scarlet; and the ginger's scarier boyfriend, Wolf.

"So I saw Thorne and Cress leave together after things got antsy last night," said Iko while wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"Yeah," Scarlet said while sipping something from a mug, "when Ze'ev and I went up to the roof for some private time; it was already occupied by them."

"The roof?" Yelped Iko "Cresswell!"

What the hell was Cresswell? Thought Aimery.

Scarlet nodded excitedly.

"Oh he really wanted to impress her then," Iko noted. "So were they up there all night, oh my gosh they were probably snuggling!"

"No, later they walked in on me and Wolf kissing in the closet up there." Scarlet said while changing ruby red.

"Really Scar? The closet?" Iko shook her head. "Well has anyone seen the love birds since?"

There was a collection of nos.

Then Thorne breezed right past Aimery to get into the kitchen, he didn't even stop to notice that Aimery was there lurking.

When he busted into the kitchen the occupants went quiet.

There was banging and clanking through the cabinets.

"So how was your night, Captain?" Iko asked.

Thorne flinched when the word Captain came out of her mouth.

"It was fine, I mean it was a amazing, well not that every night is..." Thorne drifted off and the clanking resumed.

"Woah, Thorne, what are you looking for?" Scarlet asked.

"Cornflakes," Thorne said simply.

"On the table." Wolf said, the first thing Aimery had heard him say.

"Oh, ok," Thorne said and the sound ceased.

"Thorne are you ok?" Iko asked Thorne, looking concerned.

Thorne's face twisted, looking pained.

"Yeah, Thorne," Scarlet said, "you don't look to good."

Thorne exploded, "I'm fine, alright!"

More silence.

"I just," Thorne hesitated, "I just need to get out of here."

"Thorne, what?" Scarlet asked, everyone looked confused as Thorne bursted out of the kitchen. Aimery didn't have time to move out of the way because of Thorne's unexpected exit, so he barged right into him.

Thorne didn't look good at all, he had bags under his eyes, his dress shirt was untucked from his slacks, his cuffs were unbuttoned and rolled up; and Aimery realizes that it was the same suit from the night before.

Thorne's tired blue eyes looked right into his own, and then Thorne scurried off. How peculiar, Thorne never left Aimery without telling him how much better he was, or at least throw a few insults.

Never mind that, since Thorne was heading towards the exit, that meant Crescent Moon was alone and he had some business to finish.

Aimery made his way up to the prisoner's new room. When Aimery finally reached it, he saw that the kid, Randy, he was hanging out next to the door. That kid was depressing, he just did whatever Thorne told him with no restraint, without any personal thoughts it seemed. Well that was what Aimery did, of sorts, but he could still give Thorne a hard time.

"Scram," Aimery said.

Randy ran off without question, practically a robot.

When Aimery opened the door, the girl spun around from the chair she was seated at. When she made eye contact with him, her chipper face dropped.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Aimery." He said, and he saw her freckled face click in realization, not a surprise, she was here for three days, of course Thorne had already warned her about him.

"What are you doing here, Aimery?" She questioned.

Aimery let a smirk cross his face, "I'm here to take you home, darlin'"

Crescent's eyebrows knitted together, "and why can't Thorne do that himself?"

"Something about not getting your hopes up, but I don't know I couldn't quite understand him over the laughing." He said with a toothy grin.

She looked skeptical, huh Thorne must have really gained her trust and told her I was a lying scoundrel, not that he wasn't right about that.

He decided to take it a step further, seeing that the girl hadn't moved from her seated position; remembering the thing Scarlet had said earlier. "Something about the roof and how it just wasn't for him."

When Aimery saw the agonizing pain and disbelief on her face he knew he had gotten her, and that she had fallen for Thorne, typical.

Aimery motioned for her to follow him, she got up and complied wordlessly.

Mission accomplished.

* * *

 **Cress's POV**

Cress felt like she had been in this state before.

Being that she was in a trunk of a car in the state of shock.

Was it all a lie? But it felt so real.

Was Thorne sending her back because he thought this was better for her, or him? He knew that she wasn't happy at Sybil's home, or maybe he couldn't stand the fact that he had kissed her.

She felt anger.

He had probably felt something for her too, he had felt something, and that was why he opened up to her, and why he had kissed her. Thorne probably couldn't even handle the thought of not being a strong individual.

Or maybe he was just a ladies man and he was just going to the next vulnerable, naive girl.

Either way he couldn't even do the dirty work himself.

What a coward.

* * *

 **Thorne's POV**

It's Friday morning and Miss. Mira's deadline was tonight.

Thorne had a problem, he couldn't think about anything but Cress's smile, and her eyes, and her freckles, and that cute face she makes when she knows she's the smartest person in the room.

See the problem?

He had to get her out of his head, and no one better to talk him out of his bad decisions than his best friend, Kai.

Thorne walked down the sidewalk he had walked down thousands of times years before. He stopped before a mansion. The front doors were accompanied by tall marble columns and huge windows aligned the house up and down.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''

 **Three Years Before**

Thorne ran up the sidewalk to Kai's home, and he pounded on the door.

Kai opened the door, and looked surprised to see his friend at such a late hour. "Thorne what? What have you done now?"

Thorne gave a dry laugh, "my old man's finally done with me," he said while rubbing the back of the head.

"Again?" Asked Kai, "do you need a place to stay tonight?"

"No, I'm done asking for forgiveness, I can't do so any more!" Thorne said while throwing his hands up.

"Thorne, you're so much better than this!"

"You're right Kai, I can do so much more than simple theft."

"Thorne, no! No more stealing, no more of this!"

"I'm sorry Kai, I've got plans, I can be successful."

"Then why did you come to me even if you knew you would ignore everything I said?" Asked Kai.

"I came to..." Thorne paused and looked down, "to say goodbye."

"What? Carswell you can't just leave!"

"Tell Cinder I said goodbye." Thorne said while walking away.

"Carswell!"

Thorne turned the corner and was gone.

''''''''''''''''''''''

 **Present Time**

That was the last time Thorne had seen his best friend.

Thorne walked up to the grand door and rang the bell twice.

After a minute the door opened revealing an old friend.

Thorne smiled and then Kai punched him the face.

"Ok I deserved that," Thorne said while holding the left side of his face.

"What the hell Thorne!" Kai yelled.

"Yeah yeah, I know I have a lot of explaining to do and stuff but I need your help."

"You want me to help you?" Kai yelled, "after everything you did-"

"I think I'm in love!" Thorne blurted out.

Kai was silent and wide eyed for a minute then he finally motioned for Thorne to speak.

"Well maybe I'm not in love, but there is this girl, and I can't stop thinking about her, she's funny smart, and she is absolutely gorgeous. She makes me feel safe, but I can't be with her, in fact I can't I can't be with anyone, I have an industry to run! But her eyes are like endless pools of the fountain of youth, and she has this really contagious smile, and she makes me laugh every time I speak to her and I need the feelings to stop, I mean it's probably not love right? I'm just sad because I'm bankrupt and she's so innocent, so I just feel pity right?" Thorne spilled.

"And," Thorne continued, "She doesn't see me as a criminal, she asks me about things, and then she listens to me, when I speak to her I know she's listening. When she looks at me it feels like she doesn't see me as a criminal mastermind, when she looks at me I feel like I'm a guy who can dream."

Kai smiled, "she sounds like a nice girl."

"Plus I just met her and she probably does not feel the same, aces! I kidnaped her!"

"You did what?" Kai yelled as his mood changed back to anger.

Thorne looked down.

"Look, Carswell, you are my best friend. I don't know what you have done, but I know you, and I know you are a good guy, and I know you deserve a happy life. I know your life hasn't been ideal, but you have been given chances to make up for it. If I can't influence you to make things right, maybe you will make things right for this girl."

"You think?" Asked Thorne.

"I know, now get out of here."

Thorne nodded

"Please come back to visit when you make right, and bring this girl, she sounds great."

"Wait," Thorne said. "No this isn't right I came here to have you convince me to get away from her! No I can't do this. No I will always be the disappointment of a son and friend. You were suppose to convince me to get my destructive ass away from any girl."

"Thorne you deserve this." Kai said again.

"No Kai! I don't deserve anything! I don't love her, she's just a person, just a girl."

Thorne started to walk off.

"Thorne!" Kai yelled after him, "you can't just keep running away from you problem and for this matter your feelings!"

Thorne kept walking, and he didn't look back for the second time. But he knew that he was going to follow Kai's advice for the first time in his life.

When he reached the warehouse he ran through the long hallways up to her room.

He stood there trying to catch his breath, trying to build up the courage to burst into the room and confess his feelings.

Finally, before he could lose courage, he opened the door, while thinking it probably would have been more gentleman like to knock.

When the door was open he saw that the room was empty. After doing a more thorough sweep through the room he found a knocked out Randy on the ground with a large bruise on his head, but with further examination, he had a pulse.

It appeared that his maiden had escaped.

* * *

 **Aimery's POV**

After Aimery had returned the girl, he decided to treat himself to some early drinking when an emergent meeting was called. Hmmm wonder what that was going to be about.

When he got to the conference room he was surprised to find a calm Thorne sitting at the head with his hands intertwined, while he looked over some files. Very different from the behavior from this morning.

Once everyone was gathered and seated Thorne cleared his throat and everything went silent, including Iko, surprisingly.

"I called this meeting because the captive," Thorne pauses, "Cress escaped."

There were a collection of gasps and, "what's?" Aimery had his own confusion as well.

"Why do you think she escaped?" Aimery asked for some clarification.

"Because Randy was found unconscious," Thorne said.

There was a second wave of gasps and more questions.

Aimery looked around to find Randy, when he found the young face, he was already staring right at Aimery.

Aimery narrowed his eyes, "so you got knocked out by Crescent, the prisoner?"

Still looking straight into Aimery's eyes he said, "yes, yes I did."

This guy was clearly up to something.

"Do you want us to go find her?" Asked Scarlet with sympathy in her eyes.

"No." Thorne stated.

"What are you going to do with the bankruptcy?" Asked Kinney.

He was obviously not up to the situation because Iko gave him an evil look.

"I don't know," Thorn sighed, "rob a bank or something,"

Thorne started to make his way to the exit of the room, "Iko and Scar, you guys are in charge."

Then Thorne left with his shoulders slumped and a grim face.

When Aimery looked back at Randy he was still staring at him.

* * *

 **Cress's POV**

Aimery had dropped off Cress in front of Mistress Sybil's house, and she was surprised to see Mistress was standing on the porch.

Mistress gave her a large, fake smile and Cress was surprised see that Mistress appeared to be relieve of her return.

"You've been gone for so long." Mistress said while stroking Cress's short hair.

"It was only three days." Cress said with no emotion.

Sybil's smile wavered, "that's still a long time."

Cress was confused about Mistress's endearment, but she was not emotionally aware to question it, "not long enough." Cress mumbled.

Mistress's smile turned into a thin line, and she grasped Cress's wrist tightly, and dragged her old bedroom.

"Wash up." Mistress said and let go of her.

Cress went into the bathroom that was connected to her small room.

When she looked in the mirror she saw a different girl. A confident girl, a clever girl, as Thorne had said, and a betrayed girl.

She saw her short gold locks, they had grown flat versus the volumized bounce they had because of Iko's magic, last night.

Cress stared at herself as steady streams of tears started to run their course down her cheeks, and she let herself cry.

An hour later Cress sat on the mattress staring at the barred window that led outside. She sat in a black nightgown. Her short hair was already dry which was surprising, and a change.

There was a knock at the door, Cress turned around, and when Mistress entered the room, Cress stood.

Mistress had a stack of books and files and put them on the table.

Cress stood still like a soldier standing in a line, not moving a muscle.

"I expect these to be read, and understood by dawn." Then Mistress left and Cress heard the familiar click of the lock from the outside.

Cress took a look at the titles of the material Mistress had supplied her, they were all on the subject on the elements of the periodic table.

The first book she picked up was titles "Deadly Substances: Fluorine" she opened the front cover and began reading.

* * *

 **Special thanks to PennTheWriter and BrynnBookWorm339!**


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